A Bengaluru woman has accused the driver of a Rapido bike taxi of masturbating mid-ride and sexual harassment on Friday. Taking to Twitter, the woman said that she had hailed the ride to return home from Town Hall after attending a protest held against Manipur violence. She added that she was forced to opt for the bike due to multiple cancellations from auto rickshaw taxis.
She alleged that the Rapido driver had arrived on a bike different from the one registered on the app, explaining that it was undergoing servicing. After confirming the ride via the app, she began the journey.
Read: ‘Not bhaiya…’: Woman alleges Rapido driver sent inappropriate late-night texts
En route to the destination, the man reportedly started masturbating while driving the motorcycle with the other hand, the woman wrote. “During the journey, we reached a remote area with no other vehicles around. Shockingly, the driver began riding with one hand and engaging in inappropriate behavior (Masturbating while riding the bike). Fearing for my safety, I remained silent throughout the ordeal,” she wrote.
The Twitter user said that she requested the driver to drop her a few metres away from her home with the intention of not revealing her location. However, despite making the full payment for the ride, she claimed that the rider continuously called and texted her. Sharing a screenshot of the inappropriate messages, which included a text saying ‘love you’, allegedly sent by the driver on WhatsApp, the woman said that she proceeded to block him.
{{/usCountry}}The Twitter user said that she requested the driver to drop her a few metres away from her home with the intention of not revealing her location. However, despite making the full payment for the ride, she claimed that the rider continuously called and texted her. Sharing a screenshot of the inappropriate messages, which included a text saying ‘love you’, allegedly sent by the driver on WhatsApp, the woman said that she proceeded to block him.
{{/usCountry}}“I asked him to drop me 200 meters before my actual destination to conceal my home location. Once the ride was over, he started relentlessly calling and messaging me on WhatsApp. I had to block his number to stop the harassment,” she tweeted.
Read | Bengaluru woman accuses Rapido driver of sexual assault; cops deny: Report
Tagging the bike taxi aggregator in the thread, she questioned about the measures taken to ensure the safety of the customers and added that the driver continued to harass her from other phone numbers.
“...what measures are you taking for background verification? Your users' safety should be a top priority. Please ensure that people registered with your service can be trusted for a safe travel experience…” she added.
Responding to the woman’s accusation, the official handle of Bengaluru police asked for the user’s contact details. In a tweet, the city police wrote, “We have informed to@sjparkps to take necessary action in this regard, Please DM your contact number.”
It's not the first time that Rapido drivers have been accused of sexual harassment. In March this year, a Twitter user with the handle - husnpari - shared screenshots of inappropriate messages that she alleged was sent by a Rapido driver with whom she had shared her location via WhatsApp.
In April, another Bengaluru woman was forced to jump off from a fast-moving Rapido bike taxi after she was allegedly groped and harassed by the driver. A case was registered by the Bengaluru police and the accused was arrested.